The mine smelled of ash.
Nathaniel frowned, curious. There was this strange sense of abandonment in the mine...as if nothing had stirred within it for centuries. Yet...there was an odd itch between his shoulder blades.
But there can be no ambush...
Nathaniel's frown deepened as he looked around. The narrow flight of stairs of worn wood they walked on lead down to a small round chamber with an impressive ceiling, a couple of broken down carts and equally broken pieces of copper rail covering the floor. Far to his left he could see that the arching cave walls were interrupted by a small opening, no doubt leading to another mineshaft and meant for communication between them. But it wouldn't allow anyone to come down...and wasn't large enough to put some great horde of archers upon. The round chamber was quite easily defensible, there was only one entrance leading deeper into the mine, and the small opening far above it was too small for any serious attack.
Yet I feel...something.
Nathaniel unslung his bow and shot the others a worried glance.
Lynn was nearest him, the elf too having drawn her weapons. Yet she wasn't frowning, nor looking worried. Then again she's as emotional as the stone around us...Nathaniel refused to meet her dead eyes and instead looked beyond her, to Anders, the mage looking somewhat uncomfortable, eyeing the stone with a small frown. Hmmm...maybe he's not as oblivious as he pretends to be?
Right behind him their 'prisoner' walked, though she looked like anything but one at the moment. There was now a staff strapped to the woman's back and a fire in her eyes, the rings of exhaustion around said eyes apparently forgotten. She's got spirit, I'll give her that... Her lips were a thin line as she glanced over and over again at the high ceiling though, obviously not comfortable with something so solid above her head. Or perhaps fearing it is not solid... Nathaniel shrugged the uncomfortable thought aside, there was no use pondering such dangers. Yet despite the obvious worry about the mine, as well as the fiery determination in her eyes...she walked slowly, measured, reminding Nathaniel of some of the animals he had hunted during his journeys. Ugh, Dalish...shaking his head he glanced past the woman's shoulder where Mhairi was walking.
The knight also had her weapons drawn, but far from any sense of danger form the surroundings, her sword aimed straight at the Dalish's back, her eyes narrowed, mouth a thin line of anger. Just waiting for an excuse... Nathaniel nearly rolled his eyes at that. While he could appreciate caution with a woman that so recently had killed so many Lynn had already made her decision, to disobey, with whatever excuse you might come up with, was childish at best. Still, he was sure Mhairi of all people would embrace her duty. She'll make a fine watchdog...
Looking back to his task at hand Nathaniel descended the final step, a shudder running through his spine as he felt the itch grow worse. There has to be... He held up a fist, stopping the other's advance, drawing an exasparated sigh from the Dalish. "Patience..." He muttered the word even as he sniffed and dropped low, resting his free hand on the ground. No vibration, no smell but that strange smell of ash...yet... "Commander, I don't like this."
"What's to like?" Velanna grunted, the Dalish apparently not caring for staying silent despite her status as 'prisoner', nearly making Nathaniel smirk. Feisty indeed... "Now let's get going."
"I'd prefer not to rush into anything." Nathaniel replied, shooting the woman a look.
And meeting an arched eyebrow and a snort. "You're a Grey warden? I've found more bravery among birds..."
Okay, time to make you sit down and shut up. Nathaniel cocked his head to the side. "At least birds manage to stay alive instead of getting the entire flock killed."
The elf paled, her mouth opening to say something...yet no words came. Good, own up to your mistakes... Finally Velanna just looked away, eyes afire with anger as she snorted: "I should have expected something like that from a human..."
Before Nathaniel could rebuff the accusation Lynn brushed past him, voice as cold as ever. "No choice, we continue."
Shooting Velanna a final look, earning him a glare from her, Nathaniel nodded as he moved to follow. "I suppose so Commander, but we really-"
Danger!
Nathaniel felt his senses explode in sudden fright, making him jump as the worry smashed into him like a physical blow. "Co-!"
His back was suddenly smashed into the wall as a wind came from nowhere, knocking him off his feet. A second later he fell onto all fours, his breathing laboured as the smell of acrid ash invaded his nose, so intense that he could smell nothing else, sense nothing else...making his vision swim with confusion.
I don't...he shook his head and looked up, finding Anders lying prone in front of him, the mage unconscious. Next to him the elf lay, her left arm awkwardly twisted from her fall down the stairs, yet silent as she simply lay there. Further up he saw the Mhairi in the corner of his eyes, the woman draped over the railing to the stairs, her now empty hand limply hanging over it, as if trying to reach the sword down on the floor below. Only Lynn stood, the Commander stumbling sideways, a hand on her head as she looked up at...a shape? Can't focus...can't... All had turned dark, his vision turning into a hazy tunnel.
I can't...
8
8
8
Hazy...grinning face...Hurlock?
Darkness
The ground was cold and unyielding against his back. Stone. He blinked, slowly, feeling incredible sluggish, sleepy even...despite the distant ring of alarm within his skull. Mine...danger...trap. He had seen a hurlock hadn't he?
Darkness.
There was dark stone above him, a vaulted ceiling, which was all he could see, Nathaniel unable to turn his head. Dead? No...too cold, too real...sleepy...dying?
Darkness.
A pale and purple face in front of him, eyes hidden by a golden mask as much part of the face as the black crest rising from its top. Human, but not, disfigured, filthy...strange pull...darkspawn. Not hurlock though...nor genlock...emissary? Nathaniel's confused thoughts were strangely calm, despite the nearness of the creature leaning over him. Not dead...strange...
Darkness.
The face was still there, the dark ceiling as well. It's mouth moving, speaking. Curious...Nathaniel watched the lips, finding their movement oddly mesmerizing...so familiar...yet not. "A new warden? The taint is fresh, fascinating." The voice was dry and raspy, sombre...and distant to Nathaniel's weary mind. Speaking...strange...and speaking. Nathaniel had of course been briefed on them having encountered a talking darkspawn...but... Different, different...
Darkness.
Only dark stone above him. "Failure again, go then, will try again." A small prick at his arm...a strange sensation...a surge...weakness. "Apologies warden, you will live, I hope."
Hope?
Darkness.
8
8
8
Light, an amber glow...lamps.
Keeping perfectly still Nathaniel kept his eyes as mere slits as he tried to make sense of his position without alerting anyone. No bow on back...sitting position...cold iron bars against my back...I'm in prison again? For the briefest of moments he thought he was back at Vigil's Keep, that the whole warden thing had just been a dream. But the small glimpse of his feet splayed in front of him dashed such hopes. The boots he now wore were mouldy and dirt-brown, the ones he had worn in Vigil's Keep had been sturdier and yellow. Not to mention my trousers didn't have that many holes in them...Nathaniel dryly noted the small holes in the filthy pair of trousers he now wore, the pair obviously having been eaten through by mould.
In prison, alive and clothed by my jailers...must be temporarily safe then.
Fully opening his eyes and raising his head Nathaniel found himself meeting Anders' gaze, the mage sitting opposite him in a pair of equally mouldy trousers and tunic. At the sight of him the mage lit up. "Welcome back to the world of the living! Great to be here eh?"
"I suppose." Nathaniel grunted, taking a deep breath and feeling his vision swim as he looked around himself.
The cell they were in was fairly spacious, meant to hold more people then the two now sitting at opposite ends of it among dirt and worn stones. All walls but the one to Nathaniel's right was of steel bars, the one to his left sporting an iron gate decidedly closed. No lockpicks, not an option. Behind Anders, Nathaniel saw through the bars another cell, this one inhabited by Lynn, Mhairi and Velanna, all three of the women dressed in similar mould-eaten clothes, all three pale and seated, resting against the walls.
They're probably as pale as me, interesting. I feel...dehydrated, which means I probably am, as the others no doubt are, but why? That emissary...if they clothed us surely they would have...
"Here." Nathaniel barely caught the waterskin as Anders tossed it to him. "Got it from our hosts, behing handed a waterskin by a genlock is a sight I'm telling you..."
"Genlock?" Nathaniel repeated, frowning as he uncorked the skin. "Right, darkspawn." He felt the weight of the waterskin and felt his frown deepen, this time aimed at Anders, making the mage shrug with an awkward smile. After a final glare Nathaniel shrugged. "Guess it's more important you are up to strength then me right now." He took a swig out of the skin, not at all pleased with the taste, nor with how little there was left of it all of a sudden. "Don't do it again though."
"Right, I'll try to remember that the next time we are captured by darkspawn intent on dissecting us. Oh wait-"
Ignoring Anders, Nathaniel craned his neck to look over at Lynn: "Commander, did you encounter a talking emissary?"
The elf didn't look back on him, her eyes nearly closed as she sat there. At first he thought her drained to the bone, that with her being so naturally pale...but then he realised she was just resting, gathering strength, as if the imprisonment was nothing but another hurdle. Never figured her for one of positive thinking... "Called itself the architect."
"Well I'm not impressed." Anders harrumphed and shot Nathaniel an irritated look before giving the surroundings a derisive snort.
Nathaniel had to agree, the walls were filthy, even outside their cell there were clear signs of a lack of maintenance, greasy walls, dirty floors...an eerie silence of a room where no guards made their rounds. But then again... "I doubt he was talking about buildings Anders."
The mage rolled his eyes. "I know that! Must you take things so literally!"
"Should I perhaps just ignore you then?"
"Perhaps you should-"
"Could you should shut up!" Velanna suddenly snapped, glaring at the mage through the bars, the woman suddenly on her feet, her hands closed tightly around the bars separating the two cells.
Mhairi shook her head where she sat, not looking at any of them. "I hate to agree with the criminal nut but..."
"And what's with always interrupting me?" Anders whined, making Nathaniel groan. He's just trying to lighten the mood...and Maker I think I hate it. "I mean-"
"Shut up." Lynn snapped, the elf suddenly on her feet as her narrowed eyes focused on the far end of the room, at the decidedly closed door there. Someone's coming? I can't hear anything...then Nathaniel felt it also, a strange pull at his chest, pulling towards the other end of the room...darkspawn, he knew it without having to think about it. Darkspawn...
Anders shook his head as the mage too got to his feet, the others following his example. His words muttered under his breath. "No one ever tells Nathaniel to shut up..."
Ignoring the mage, which was rapidly becoming harder and harder, Nathaniel moved closer to the bars of the cell as he focused on the distant door...only to blink at the sight greeting him when it opened. The gasp of Velanna a distant thing as he tried to make sense of what was approaching them.
The woman was tall for an elf, like Velanna, but with the splintmail armour and thick mane of dirty blond hair covering her ears it was hard to tell if the woman shared any other of Velanna's attributes. Yet there was no doubt that she was the woman's sister, if nothing by virtue of the elf mage's intense and horrified stare.
And there was much to be horrified about. The woman was a ghoul, or at least she looked like one. Nathaniel had read of the state, seen people describe people struck by plagues to be in a similar state...and it took no genius to figure out what the pale white eyes of the woman's spoke of, of what the blackened and sunken cheeks meant, what the dark blue veins covering her pale face meant. She was sick, diseased, tainted...the pull at his chest demanding of him to put an arrow through her skull.
But he had no weapons, could do nothing...and even if he could he would have held back, the spark of intelligence in those milky eyes of the woman not something to end so unthinkingly. No, think, then act. As he watched he saw the woman's pale face twist into a grin, a macabre twist of a real smile, ruined by sharp and yellowing fangs now covering the inside of otherwise soft but blue lips. A real honest smile...and terrifying because of it. "Sister, it is good to see you." The voice was soft, reminding Nathaniel of Velanna's own, but raspy, as if she hadn't drunk anything for a long time.
Velanna pressed up against the bars, eyes large, lower lip trembling. "Se-Seranni?" Her question was low, whispered...and Nathaniel couldn't blame her. How would I react if I saw Delilah like this? Poor woman... He shook such useless sympathy aside and inched closer, listening in.
"You came for me." The smile weakened, but remained, as the blighted elf stepped closer, close enough to wrap her hands around the bars separating her from her sister, the voice softened even further, coloured with sadness. "You shouldn't have."
"What? I couldn't just-"
"Sister, sister..." Seranni shook her head, the pale skin around her milky eyes twisting into a smile even as her lips turned into a sad frown. "...always first to act...never to think."
Velanna visibly swallowed, her head dropping low as she squeezed her eyes shut. "This isn't about-"
"It's okay." The blighted elf spoke softly, inching closer, her smile sad as she too bowed her head, pressing her forehead against that of Velanna's. "I always liked that, despite what the others said...and it lead to good, this is good sister..."
"Good?" Velanna rasped, shoulders visibly shaking as she kept her eyes shut. "You are not thinking clearly? I must help you, please, let me-"
A small chuckle escaped the other elf. "Please? You never say please unless you're frightened...don't be." A hand reached out through the bars, pale and vein-covered hand closing digging into Velanna's hair as the blighted sister smiled. "All has worked out for the best...I see that now."
Nathaniel found himself looking away, suddenly feeling like an intruder. A quick glance told him the others had followed suit, all but Lynn who calmly regarded the exchange with narrowed eyes, head cocked. "But we have to..."
"He has plans for us, a good plan..." Seranni's whisper seemed to echo in the room, making Nathaniel shiver. "...no more hiding, no more fighting with humans...all...as one...can you imagine that sister? Peace...no more being hunted for who we are, no more fear...peace." Then the voice changed, coloured by concern. "But...you shouldn't be here. H-he doesn't think like us...he doesn't...fully understand us...I-I can't let you die."
A jingling made Nathaniel look back, finding the blighted elf having taken a step back, her right hand raised, holding up a ring full with keys. The milky eyes were calm, her lips smiling, but it was a sad smile, a false calm... "You must leave, through the tunnels...it's not far if you hurry."
Velanna visibly flinched, eyes wide with realisation even as she with trembling lips spoke the question she already knew the answer to: "B-but what about-"
Seranni's blighted features twisted into a horrible mirror of a sweet smile. "I will not come with you, even if I wanted to...I cannot."
Nathaniel nodded, what chance did a ghoul, even a thinking one, have on the surface? None. He lowered his head, sighing heavily, what chance did any pariah have on the surface? But to have to watch helplessly as someone you loved was made a pariah...to have to endure them slipping away from you...that had to be worse.
A glance at Velanna confirmed it, the horror on her face, the sudden crumpling of her decisiveness, the fire in her eyes extinguished as if it had been nothing but a fluttering candle.
Then the fire returned, a blaze, narrowed eyes glaring at the other elf as Velanna pressed up against the bars, teeth bared in a snarl. "No! I will not accept that! You are coming with me! And that's final!"
A small chuckle, Seranni's lips twisting into an amused smile. "Always so stubborn..." A final long look...and the elf turned to look at him, her milky eyes surprisingly kind. "Here." The keys flew through the bars...and he caught them, blinking in surprise at the heavy weight suddenly in his hands. "Don't be afraid to drag her with you, she'll see sense in a while."
With that the blighted elf blinked, a small sniffle escaping her...before she turned and began to run.
"Seranni!" Velanna crashed into the bars, hands reaching out after the woman, eyes wide.
But the other elf didn't turn, nor did she look back, instead the door crashed shut behind her.
Silence.
Velanna's hands slowly dropping, her head hanging low, her shoulders visibly shaking...before finally dropping low. An air of defeat heavy around her as her family disappeared. Nathaniel felt his own shoulders slump at that, he felt as if he should say something, but remembered his own realisation his family was gone all too well, comforting words hadn't helped. Your family...I...there's nothing to say.
Defeat.
Then she straightened, her eyes shooting daggers as she glared at him. "Why are you standing there you fool! Open the cell so we can go after her!"
Or maybe not...
888
Thanks to Abydos Jackson for the praise.